Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Should australia become a republic essay
Pros and cons of a republic
Should australia become a republic essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Should australia become a republic essay
Issue
This is issue has recently come back into the spotlight due to an interview with the current Australian of the year, Simon McKeon. In the interview, he urged Australian’s to bring up the republican debate suggesting that now is the time to become a republic. This has sparked many people coming forward and debating the issue.
Introduction
Australia is currently a constitutional monarchy, meaning that the Queen is our current head of state. We also have a written constitution, which limits the Queen and other authorities power. The governor general, who is appointed on the advice of the prime minister, represents the Queen.
In 1931, Britain passed the Statue of Westminster which gave independence to the Australian parliament. Australia, however, did not ratify this law until 1942. As this law only applied the federal parliament, Britain passed the Australia Act, which gave independence to the states as well. The High Court of Australia is now the final court in deciding constitutional matters and the final court of appeal. Due to these laws, Australia has become an independent nation. However, it is believed that we are not truly independent due to our link with the British crown.
Some Australians believe that the time is right, for Australia to become a republic. There are many arguments, both for and against, regarding this issue.
Arguments for a Republic
The main for a republic is that for Australia to be truly independent, it is essential to sever the ties with the British monarch. Currently the only person who can become the official head of state is the eldest male heir to the British throne. A republic would allow for equality in this respect, as any Australian would be eligible for the positi...
... middle of paper ...
...ferendum_Reports_Statistics/1999.htm. Last accessed 2nd June 2011.
Liddelow, L. (2011). Republicans are Fiercely Independent . Available: http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/republic/republicans-are-fiercely-democratic-a-model-suggestion/. Last accessed 18th June 2011.
no author. (2008). Poll Shows Republican Majority. Available: http://www.republic.org.au/blog/poll-shows-republican-majority. Last accessed 19th June 2010.
right, J. (2010). Australia Not Ready For A Republic. Available: http://www.smh.com.au/national/not-ready-for-a-republic-well-we-are-amused-20100828-13wv7.html. Last accessed 19th June 2010.
no author. (2011). New Australian of the Year Wants to Debate an Australian Republic. Available: http://www.republic.org.au/story/new-australian-year-wants-australians-debate-australian-republic-courier-mail-26111. Last accessed 20th June 2011.
Australia is a monarchy of the United Kingdom. It always has been, and yet this does not seem to have significantly and adversely affected our development and growth towards our country. Thus, there seems no legitimate purpose to change this; since a republican Australia displays a lack of conclusive benefits towards our economy and ‘way of life.’ An Australian republic would cost billions to undertake and is simply unnecessary as there are more important issues facing Australia; and if the Australian citizens are not calling for a referendum, then any serious discussions from politicians or other related public figures are irrelevant and meaningless.
The Australian flag was chosen in 1901, when a competition was held to design our country’s flag. The guidelines of this competition included that the Union Jack and Southern Cross should appear on the flag. However, I believe that in the year 2001, the Australian flag needs to be changed. During the course of this essay, I will show that the Australian flag does not represent all Australians, in particular, Aboriginal Australians and that the symbols on our flag are no longer relevant and are not unique to Australia. I will also show that the present flag is not instantly recognisable and is too similar to flags of other countries.
MacDermott, D. (1993). As we see you. In D. Grant & G. Seal (Eds.), Australia in the world (pp. 86-91). Perth: Black Swan Press
I believe that Australia should not become a republic. I think that there would be no point in becoming a republic, because we live without the intervention of the Queen at the moment, so becoming a republic would achieve nothing. If we were to become a republic, we would lose the support of England in times of war, famine or other disaster. I think that becoming a republic would achieve nothing, lose our links with England and waste the parliament's time when they should be concerned with more important issues.If we were to become a republic, the governor general would be replaced by a president who would have the same powers and responsibilities as our Governor General, so only the name and the person holding the position would change, wasting important parliament time and achieving absolutely nothing.
...at these several events in our nation’s history have demoralised our reputation to other countries globally. To make us known as a better country to other nations, we’ve completely abolished the White Australia Policy, gave back the aborigines their freedoms and we were also the first country in the world to give women rights. Australia today in present day is now one of the most multicultural societies on Earth, and we definitely follow our values of mateship, acceptance and freedom.
When Australia’s 21st Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was swept into power in December 1972 there was huge anticipation for dramatic and swift change. Australia had been under the control of a conservative liberal government for 23 consecutive years, and Whitlam’s promises if social change were eagerly anticipated. Whitlam, despite his failings as a negotiator, managed to implement a huge array of reforms and changes, many of which shaped Australia into the country it is today. However is that enough to say he succeeded? Even Whitlam today admits that he regrets doing “too much too soon”, and perhaps Whitlam’s government was a government that was too socially progressive for its time, which could perchance have been a foreshadowing of things to come for the most recent labor government of Julia Gillard which has been labeled by some as the most incompetent government since Whitlam. Gough Whitlam has had the most books written and published about him than any other Australian Prime Minister to Date. This essay will argue that Whitlam was a successful leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), who had the ability and charisma to lead Australia in an era of prosperity; he did however succumbed to a few grave errors of judgment that ultimately led to his downfall, however his ultimate goal was to transform Australia which he achieved. Whitlam’s’ errors were seen as being due to his inability take advice from senior figures on how to turn his amateur government into a competent one and his inflexible approach to dealing with the hostile senate that the Australian public gave him, and often led to his government being labeled the worst in Australian history and as a failure.
Russell, titled ‘End Australia Day’, which simply advocates that it’s ‘time to let it [Australia Day] go’. Contrasting with Roberts-Smith, who was calm and collected, Russell is abrupt and almost pleading at times. The day has ‘outlived its usefulness’ and it’s adamant to Russell that it is time for a change. Noting suitable day changes, such as ‘July 9’, is high on his to-do list. However, he also believes the Constitution is ‘outdated’ and that to be fair to all in Australia it would be wise to ‘scrap it and start again’. His factual statements on the past allow the reader to acknowledge that their ancestors did play a part in the oppression of the Indigenous, but the recommendation of changing the Constitution entirely could be viewed as ludicrous. As trying to cater for everyone in the “new Constitution” could still mean that groups are left out, and the cost of this idea could turn heads in the opposite
Australia became an independent nation on January 1, 1901 when the British Parliament passed certain legislation allowing the six Australian colonies to regulate their own authority as part of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia was established, and remains as, a constitutional monarchy, meaning that it was founded with a written constitution, and that the Australian head of state is also head of the Commonwealth (Queen Elizabeth II.) The Australian Constitution was initially drafted by several men in the 1890’s though it wasn't passed by the British Parliament until 1900 as part of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act. By definition the Australian Constitution is a composition
Ozdowski, Sev. 2007. Why We Need an Australian Bill of Rights Now. Pg. 22-25. Swinburne Online Library. Viewed 19th December 2016.
Australia is a bicameral federation Parliamentary democracy. Power is divided between the Commonwealth federal government and the six state governments. The Federal Parliament, or the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, is the legislative branch. The Queen (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate (Upper House) and the House of Representatives (Lower House) make up the Federal Parliament. The Federal Parliament includes two separate chambers: The House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate represent the six States and the two self-governing Territories while the members of the House represent electoral divisions according to population. The House of Representatives consists of 150 members, each elected from single member
‘I want a Little Fair Play if you will be so kind enough to see on my Behalf’ (http://www.abc.net.au/civics/democracy/struggle.htm, 2001).
After the 2011 Federal election, Gillard obtained majority government only with the support of 12 cross benchers in the Senate, and one member of the House. This was the first federal hung parliament since 1940, and only the second in Australian history. Here we see Gillard’s most admirable and distinguishing political leadership skill shine; she was a master negotiator. Both major political parties at the time had the opportunity to negotiate support for their parties in this new political makeup, however Julia was able to succeed where her opposition could not. In hindsight one could argue that this was an early sign that when the Opposition did gain power at the following election, their Leader Tony Abbott, would not be able to effectively lead.
The drafting of the Constitution does not include all feasible areas of legal development and is not intended; that would have been unreasonable. However, they also trust that States should retain the capacity to make the law relevant to their regional, economic and demographic The Australian Constitution sets out the form of the federal government and lays the foundation for the relationship between the Commonwealth and the countries. There are six states in Australia which are Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and two territories (the Northern Territory and Australia Capital Territory which is the location of capital - Canberra).
This paper concludes with that Rowe is an important case for Australia representative democracy because it underlines the implied right to vote supported under sections 7 and 24 of the Constitution along with the previous case, Roach. It also defines the importance of the equal electorate to maintain the representative democracy as well.
The most general type of republic is parliamentary system, often called parliamentary democracy. A parliamentary system is a type of republic, where the power of parliament exceeds the power of president. Although, president reserves some key competences. Generally, the members of government are also members of parliament, and accountable to Parliament. If the government doesn't get the vote of confidence, it can be dismissed by the Parliament or achieves the appointment of new elections to government. Such republics often have proportional electoral systems. The voters vote for parties rather than candidates. In th...